As the horn sounded on Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, former Boston Bruin Dougie Hamilton was right in the middle of the post-game discord once again.
Hamilton was involved in two questionable penalties that resulted in Patrice Bergeron scoring on the man advantage -- their second power-play marker in 28 seconds -- that went on to stand as the game-winning goal.
You can watch the call here:
Later on, Hamilton was thrown in the sin bin for interfering with David Backes during a loose puck board battle. That penalty can be seen here.
Following the game, Hamilton and head coach Rod Brind'Amour expressed their displeasure with both calls.
It doesn't help when the Hurricanes' PK is running at only 73.2 percent, as the Bruins went 2-for-5 on the PP. While Bruins fans will disagree with Hamilton's takes, one former NHL linked the first penalty to a theme that's supposedly been apparent this post-season: Hamilton is playing scared.
Former Philadelphia Flyer Tony Amonte, now doing work for NBC Sports Boston, called the 25-year-old right-shot defender for playing scared as the reason why he committed two illegal plays.
"He just tries to take the hit. You can see him looking over his shoulder there -- doesn't want to play the puck at all.
"He's still scared; he's still looking for Ovechkin. Ovechkin's not playing, though, Dougie.
"He's real soft in his zone, he gives you time and space in the corner to come, turn, get your feet going, get skating. You can't play defence like that in the NHL -- not this of the season.
I think the Bruins are going to have a field day with him. That's how we plays and that's why he's been on his third team and he's 25-years-old. Just not a prototypical Boston Bruin and that's why he's not here anymore."
Click here to watch Amonte's full critique.
Hamilton was criticized for sidestepping Alex Ovechkin the 'Canes first-round series against the Washington Capitals where he appeared to avoid a collision behind the net.
Offensively, Hamilton has delivered this post-season, notching the second most amount of points from a blueliner on his club with 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 12 games with a +4 rating and a 58.78 shot attempt differential.
Game 2 goes Sunday in Boston.